1. The wild rover: a famous traditional British folk song often sung in evening sing-songs at the pub. There are some famous singing pubs in Britain where young and old go to drink and sing together.

2. Nay: No (old use).

3. Ale-house: public house, in Britain familiarly called ' Pub ', where alcoholic drinks are sold.

4. Sovereigns: old British gold coins, face value £1.

5. In jest: as a joke, not seriously.

6. Oft-times: often (old use).

The pub

In Britain people like to meet in taverns, called public houses or more familiarly 'pubs'. There are about 73,000 pubs in Britain and they are more than just drinking houses. Pubs are places where people relax, chat, make friends, sometimes have tight meals, play darts and, of course, drink. Most pubs have a dart board and any customer may play. In many pubs there are also dart teams which play matches against teams from other pubs. The most popular drink served in pubs is beer, light or dark. It is generally served in pints, and people drink it either at the bar, that is the counter where drinks are served, or at the tables. There are drinking laws in Britain. By these laws, young people under eighteen are not allowed to buy alcoholic drinks in the pubs, and there are hours during the day when alcoholic drinks cannot be served at all. In fact the usual opening hours for pubs are:

London 11.00 a.m. - 3.00 p.m.

5.30 p.m. - 11.00 p.m.

Provinces 11.30 a.m. - 3.00 p. m.

5.30 p.m. – sometimes 10.30 pp.

sometimes 11.00 p.m.

Off-licenses (Where alcoholic drinks can be bought for consumption elsewhere):